Current-modifying relay system



Nov. 11, 1924. 1,515,109

R. v. L. HARTLEY CURRENT MODIFYING RELAY SYSTEM Filed Sept. 23 1919 FIE/f) l/L. Harf/ey Patented Nov. 11, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RALPH V. L. HARTLEY, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR T0 WESTERNELEC- TRIC COMPANY, INCORPORATED OF NEW YORK, N. A CORPORATION OF NEWYORK.

CURRENT-MODIFYING RELAY SYSTEM.

Application filed September 23, 1919. Serial No. 325,731.

T 0 all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, RALPH V. L. HART- LEY, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at East Orange, in the county of Essex, State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Current-Modifying Relay System, of which the following is a full, clear,concise, and exact description.

This invention relates to translating circuits employing translatingdevices or relays, and more particularly to translating circuits adaptedto suppress certain components resultin from the translating operation.The individual translating devices or relays employed areadapted toproduce output currents comprising a complex combination of the appliedvoltages or currents.

In my Pateut'1,494,905, issued May 20, 1924, it is shown that for thetypical three electrode thermionic relay the output cur-. rent I may berepresented within certain limits by the relation \Vhere a is a constantdepending upon the relay structure, E is an equivalent applied constantvoltage which in reality is a function ofthe plate voltage, grid voltageand such inherent voltages as are present in the relay due to contactdifferences of potential and voltage drop through the filament if acurrent heated filament "is used as a cathode, and 0 represents avariable voltage which is impressed on. the input circuit; a

If the relays are used as modulators in which a carrier wave 6 ismodulated by av signal wave or other wave e then e:e,,+e By expansion,

The first term E may be neglected since it does not contain e andrep-resents only a direct current component. The second term representsamplification of the individual waves 6 and e the third term representsa double-frequency component of both waves and the last term representsa modulation frequency component. The transformations for showing thatthese terms represent the frequencies stated are given in the copendmgapplication above referred to and more fully 1n the British Patent No.102,503 of 191 If the same waves 6,, and e are applied fan to thedifferent relays, there are four different combinationsthat arepossible. They may be applied both in the same sign ""-as e +e or one orthe other or both waves may be reversed, the relation of the waves onthe four relays 1,11, III, IV, being as follows:

n+ q I1e,,e I1I--e,,I-e IVe,,--e

Qorresponding output currents 2' 2' 2', and 2 from the r relative relayswill then be, neglecting the constant term E '11, i, i 'i 4a(e e (7) andfour similar relays connected in this manner would give thedouble-frequencies of both input waves without transmitting any of theunmodified frequencies and without modulating each other,

- 1fthe as of all the relays are the same and the four relays connectedin this manto equation (10).

However, by m Taking the different 2 values into account the equations(7) and (8-) baiome If the double-frequency component alone is desiredthe output circuits of the relay combinations are made additive in thesense of (9) plus (10). To retain the modulation components alone theoutputs of the relay combinations are opposed.

Assuming the tubes have different a values, if these values are known itwill be found that for the suppression of any particular components, thetubes can be so chosen as to their a values and so related in pairs asto give amaximum degree of suppression of the undesired components. Ineach case one of the unmodified frequency components e or 6., will bemore completely suppressed than the other. aking E as small as possibleand still have the relation expressed in equation (1) hold, theoutput-of the desired combination-frequency components is not afi'ectedand the single-frequency components can be made practically zero.

Fig. 1 of the drawing shows apossible way of associating four thermionicrelays I, II, III, IV to secure the double-frequency component alone;while Fig. 2 shows the connection to secure the modulation componentalone. These numerals correspond to those used above to indicate themanner of applying the waves e and e, to the respective relays. In thedrawing it will be seen that both waves 'from wave sources 1 and 2 ofthe waves 6 and 6., respectively are applied in the same manner throughthe input coils 3 and 4 tothe relay I. In the case of relay IV bothwaves are reversed on the in ut so that if the outputs of relays I andIV are additive, this connection corresponds to equation (9). Inthe caseof relay II, the wave a, is ap lied in reversed direction and in case 0relay III, the wave a, is reversed so that relays II and III with theirout uts added correspond f it is desired to retain the double-frequencycomponent alone, the

out uts ofthe relay combinations I and IV an II and III are madeadditive as indicated bythe circuit 5 of Fig. 1 'in which the coils 6,7, 8 and 9 are all connected in the same direction. To retain only themodulation component the outputs of the relay combinations IIV and IIIIIare made to oppose which corresponds to subtracting equation (10) from.(9). This isv accomphshed by reversing the connection of coils 8. and 9with respect to coils 6 and 7 as indicated in circuit 10 of Fig. 2.

If the relays are associated and are controlled as above described,keeping the quantity E as small as is consistent with large productionof the desired combination frequencies, the waves 8 and a, may be madeto give practically a pure modulated output in circuit 10 or practicallya puredouble-frequency output if the circuit 5 is used.

The particular relay circuits shown are illustrative of the principleinvolved and give-one way of practicing the invention. The invention isnot however, to be limited to the specific means shown but only by thescope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of operating wave distorting repeating devices having apluralityof input circuits and a common work circuit to produce desiredwave components in said work circuit, which method comprisessimultaneously impressing upon four or more of said input circuits wavesof a plurality of frequencies whereby combinationsof un=modified-frequency, multiple-frequency and combination-frequency areproduced by said devices, suppressing the unmodified-frequencycomponents by impressing them simultaneously upon the common work'circuit in such phase relations that theirefi'ects are neutralizedtherein, and simultaneously suppressing the undesired other componentsby likewise impressing .them simultaneously upon the common work circuitin such phase relation as to neutralize their effects therein.

2. The method of operating a plurality of wave distorting repeatingdevices having a common work circuit to produce desired wave componentsin said work circuit, which method comprises simultaneously impressingupon four or more of said devices waves of a plurality of frequencieswhereby combinations of unmodified-frequency, multiplefrequency, andcombination-frequency are produce by each of said devices, suppressmgthe unmodified-frequency components by impressing them simultaneously.upon the common work circuit in such phase relations that their efi'ectsare neutralized therein, and simultaneously suppressing the undesiredother components by likewise impressing them simultaneously upon thecommon work circuit in such phase relations as to neutralize theirefi'ects therein.

3. A plurality of wave sources, a plurality of relays associated withsaid sources, said relays acting by groups to produce an output wavecomprising only multiple-frequency and combination-frequency components,said groups of relays cooperating to produce an output comprlsing onlyone of said components.

4. A plurality 'of wave sources, a system of similar relays eachassociated with said waves sources for producing a givenfrequency-component comprising individual relays associated forsuppression of certain group of relays and oppositely related to therelays of a group, said relays having their-outputs related to saidcommoncircuit by groups. 1

6. A relay system comprising groups of relays having a common outputcircuit, means for applying a plurality of waves to said system, therelays of each of said groups being connected so as to suppressunmodified-frequency components in saidoutput and the groups being sorelated to said common output circuit as to suppress other undesiredcomponents in said output circuit.

7 A plurality, of wave sources, a plurality of relayssupplied from saidsources and associated in groups I having their outputs associated witha common circuit, each relay producin in, its output components ofunmodifiedr'equency, multiple-frequency and combination-frequency, therelays of each group producing zero resultant unmodified-frequencycomponent in said common circuit, each twogroups of relays producingzero resultant of another of said components in said common circuit.

8. A plurality of wave sources, a pair of similafi'three electrodedischarge devices connected with said sources, means for varying thegrid potential of each device similarly by all waves, the potentialvariation by said waves being opposite in said devices, another pair ofsimilar discharge devices, means for varying the id potentials of saidsecond pair different y by the different waves and respectivelyoppositely by the same wave, output circuits for said devices, and acommon circuitfor said output circuitrelated similarly to the individualdevices of each air. a P 9; A plurality of wave sources n in number, 2relays, all said sources being operatively associated with the input ofeach of said relays in a different manner, each pair of said relayshavin the wave'sources associated oppositely with the relays of saidpair, a common circuit for said relays, the

out utsflof each said pair of relays being similarly associated withsaid common circuit. r

10. A plurality of wave sources, a plurality of relays, all of saidsources being operatively associated with the input ofeach of saidrelays in a difierent manner, each wave source being similarlyassociated with half of saidrelays and reversely associated with theother half, each pair of said relays having the wave sources associatedopposite- .ly withthe relays of said pair, and a common circuit forsaid'relays, the, outputs of each said pair of relays beingsimilarly'associated with said common circuit;

' 11. A plurality of wave sources n in number, 2 thermionic vacuum tubedischarge devices each having a cathode, ananode, and an impedancecontrolling element or grid, all of said sources being operativelyassociatedwith the grid-cathode circuit of each of said devices in adifferent manner, each pair of said devices having the wave sourceassociated oppositely with the grid-cathode circuits of each device ofeach pair, a common circuitfor said devices, the anode-' cathodecircuits of each of said pairs of devices being similarly associatedwith said 1 common circuit. a 12. -A relay system comprising groups 0thermionic vacuumtubes each tube having a cathode, an anode andsanimpedance controlling element or grid, a common workcirvcuit for saidtubes, means for applying a plurality of waves to the grid-cathodecircuits of said tubes, means connecting the tubes of each of saidgroups so as to suppress unmodified-frequency components in said workcircuit and means connecting the groupsto said work circuit in suchmanner as to suppress other undesired components in said work circuit.7- 1 13. A thermionic vacuum tube relay system comprising a plurality ofwave sources, a plurality of thermionic vacuum tubes each having. ananode, a cathode and an impedance controlling element or grid, atransformer for each wave source connected .in series with thegrid-cathode circuit of each tube, a common work circuit for said tubes,a transformer to associate the cathode-anode circuit'of each tube withsaid work circuit, means including connections between said firstmentioned transformers and. other vmeans including connections betweensaid second mentioned transformers whereby both the unmodified frequencycomponents and other undesired frequency components impressed upon saidwork circuit may be suppressed 14. In a translating system comprisingtwo mutually related translating devices with input frequencies appliedcumulatively with respect to said translating devices and other inputfrequencies applied diflerenand other input frequenciesapplieddifferentially with respect thereto, so that the output current willcontain a component corresponding to the differentially appliedfrequencies, but no component correspondingto the cumulatively appliedfrequencies,

a method of suppressing the former comphase relation to ponent whichconsists in diverting a portion of the input energy of the frequency or.frequencies to be suppressed from the input of said translatingarrangement, and impressing said energy upon the output of saidtranslating arrangement in opposite the component to be suppressed. I

16. In a translating system, a balanced modulator circuit comprisin apair of translating devices, a source of input energy appliedcumulatively with respect to said devices, another source of inputenergy applied difierentially with respect thereto, an

outgoing circuit upon which the output energy of the modulator isapplied, and means to impress upon said outgoing circuitindependentlysof said modulator energy from said differentially appliedsource.

17.1n a translating system, a balanced modulator circuit comprising apair of translating devices, a source of energy applied cumulativelyvwith respect to said translating devices, and another source of energyapplied differentially with respect thereto whereby the output energy ofthe modulator will contain a component corresponding to the lattersource, but no component corresponding to the former source, an outgoingcircuit upon which the output energy of the modulator is impressed, andmeans for impressing upon said outgoing circuit independently of saidmodulator energy from said differentially applied source with suchamplitude and phase relation as to neutralize the effects of thecomponent of the output current of the modulator corresponding to' saiddifi'erentially applied source. s

'18. In a translating system, a balanced modulator circuit comprising apair of translating'devices, a source of energy applied cumulativelywith respect tosaid output energy of said auxiliarytranslating deviceupon said outgoing circuit in such phase relation as to neutralize theeffect of the component of the'output current of the modulatorcorresponding to. said difierentially applied source.

19. In a translating system a balanced modulator circuit comprising apair of translating devices, a source of input energy appliedcumulatively with respect to said deviceand another source of energyapplied differentially with respect thereto, an outgoing circuit uponwhich the out-put energy of the modulator is applied, and means toimpress upon said outgoing circuitindependently'of said modulatorenergyfrom one of said applied sources. I

20. In a translating system a balanced modulator circuit comprising apair of translating devices, a source of energy applied cumulativelywith respect to said translating devices and another source of energyapplied differentially with respect thereto,1whereby the output energyof the modulator will contain a component corresponding to one of saidsources but no component corresponding to the other of said sources, anoutgoing circuit upon which the output energy of the modulator isimpressed and means for impressing upon said outgoing circuitindependently of said modulator energy from said source corre- 'spondingto which there is a component in the output circuit, said last mentionedenergy having such amplitude and phase relation as to neutralize theelfects of the component of the output current of the modulatorcorresponding to said last mentioned source.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 22nd day ofSeptember A. D., 1919.

RALPH v. L. HARTLEY.

